Ink Drops
by TessaSpencer
Summary: AngelaTony: Totally AU - Valentine's day is one of the hardest days of the year when you have a secret crush...


Ink Drops  
  
Angela woke up with a dull throbbing in her shoulder. It was strange-it was kind of like her skin was burning. She would have been more disturbed by the annoying pain, but as she moved against her pillow, she realized that her head felt like it was going to explode.  
  
"How much did I drink last night?" Angela closed her eyes and rested her arm over her forehead, wondering what she drank. Unable to remember a thing, she groaned. "I have to stop drinking-nothing good ever happens."  
  
Suddenly, Angela felt something move beside her-the mattress sagging a bit beneath the weight. She gasped, and then rolling on to her side, she cursed herself for her inability to moderate her drinking. Granted, she was hardly an alcoholic, but this was the second time in recent months that she had woken up with almost no recollection of the night before, and this time, she wasn't waking up alone.  
  
It was getting worse, she realized-last time she had only kissed Tony and asked him to go to bed with her. This time she actually pulled someone into her bed!  
  
Once she finally propped herself on her side, she slowly opened her eyes. Whoever was beside her had turned on their side away from her, and she couldn't see their face.  
  
The realization suddenly hit her-she wasn't wearing any clothes. Her pyjamas were on the chair across from the bed, and still neatly folded. When she lifted the blanket a little to look at the form next to her, she realized that he wasn't wearing anything either.  
  
"Damn," she muttered as she pulled pieces together. Shifting out of bed, she pulled her robe from the back of the door and tied it tightly around her, once again aware of the pain she had awoke to. Angela fought the nausea that was overwhelming her. She had to figure out who was lying beside her.  
  
Tip toeing around the bed, Angela tried to steal a peak under the blanket that was covering her mystery lover's face.  
  
Whoever he was, he was a sound sleeper, she decided, because as she started to peel back the blanket that was covering his face, he hadn't moved.  
  
____  
  
"Tony," Angela called down the steps, hoping he hadn't yet left for his date.  
  
Valentine's day was so stressful in the Bower house. It was difficult enough for them to bring home a date at any time, but on the most romantic day of the year, to bring someone home was horrifying.  
  
"Yes Angela?" Tony looked amazing, dressed in black slacks and a royal blue knit sweater. "I can't find my charcoal dress," she responded. Her date with Toby was perfectly planned, and now all she needed was the perfect dress.  
  
"It's in your closet, next to the gold short set, and above the winter shoes," he told her easily. It was strange that he knew where everything in Angela's life was-it was his job, he told himself, but then he reminded himself that he also really liked being that close to her.  
  
"Thanks," she said as she turned to return to her room. He looked great, she thought, and that woman he was seeing tonight was very lucky. Suddenly catching herself thinking about the wrong man, Angela changed her direction of thought.  
  
Toby was a good enough guy, she reminded herself. He was a political consultant to a democratic senator in New York, and he was somewhat attractive-not the type she would normally date. He was somewhat grumbley, and he seemed to spend all of his time talking about work, but he was a date for Valentine's day and that's what mattered at that point. Angela didn't want to be alone, knowing that Tony would be going out with someone, and the kids were at a school dance. Mona would be out with some guy, or guys, and that would leave Angela alone. No, Toby was definitely a decent date for one night, so who cared about his faults?  
  
Finally having pulled her outfit together, Angela fixed her hair and inspected her make up one more time. She had to admit she looked pretty amazing-too bad it was being wasted on a guy she really didn't have any plan of dating more than the once. ____  
  
The drive to the restaurant was quiet. Toby had picked Angela up from the house and hadn't even mentioned how great she looked. Had he even looked at her? Instead, Toby ranted about how horribly things were going in the senator's office, and how he was tired of running interference between the communications staff and the press office.  
  
Great, Angela thought. I could be sitting here naked and he would be wondering about polling data.  
  
Finally at dinner, his attentions switched from work to Angela. The switch in direction seemed to correlate directly to the fact that he was already on his fourth glass of champagne. ____  
  
Tony couldn't believe that he had gone all the way into the city with a woman he really had no intentions of seeing again. Diana, Tony mused. She was a great woman, and very nice, but something about her just wasn't...Angela.  
  
These feelings had begun to grow in recent months, and Tony was finding it harder and harder to hide them. That was why he went out for Valentine's day-he had intended to distract himself, and hopefully find away out of Angela's grip.  
  
By the time they sat down in the restaurant, Tony knew that it wasn't possible-he could have sworn he saw Angela walk in with a man who looked much too old for her. He was balding, which was why Tony was sure it wasn't his Angela.  
  
But then he wasn't so sure. He heard her laughter, and then he saw her excuse herself from the table. It was Angela, no doubt, he decided. Charcoal dress, perfect hair, amazing legs...  
  
"Tony?" Diana looked at Tony, unsure as to why her date was staring at a balding man at a table across the room.  
  
"Oh, yeah, sorry. Thought I saw someone I knew," he covered. ___  
  
"So what do you say? You want to go get a room?" Toby asked nonchalantly.  
  
Angela's jaw dropped. She would never sleep with someone on the first date, and especially not someone she didn't even like. "Uh, I think actually I should soon be getting home," she smiled, trying to wiggle her way out of it.  
  
"Ang, don't be silly-it's the day of love. Shouldn't we get some?" Toby grinned at her, appraising Angela again.  
  
"I'm, uh, really not comfortable with this conversation, and I'd appreciate if we talked about something else," she stated firmly.  
  
"I bet you're beautiful naked," Toby said plainly, as if it were a standard comment to make. His hand wandered under the table and found her knee, and then began to move upwards.  
  
Angela managed to strangle her scream as her hand darted beneath the table, and grabbed his, stopping it before it could travel anywhere more. "Dinner's over," she spat, "thank you!" Standing, she straightened her skirt and began to walk away, but Toby jumped to his feet as quickly as he could, stumbled and grabbed her shoulder.  
  
"Angela!"  
  
That had been enough to get Tony's attention. As he looked up, he saw Angela looking horrified at the man who was grabbing her-and then he realized, Toby was grabbing her.  
  
"What the hell?" Tony yelled as he crossed the restaurant. He never said a word to Diana, instead jumping to his feet and bounding towards them.  
  
"Tony?" Angela asked, confused.  
  
"You okay?" he asked, as he removed Toby's hands from Angela's arm and shoulder.  
  
"Fine, really," she tried to convince them both.  
  
"You EVER touch her again, I will kill you," Tony said, rage filling his eyes.  
  
"We were just..." Toby began, making a wild hand gesture.  
  
"You were just leaving, and forgetting her number," Tony finished, and waited, staring down Toby. ___ Catching the train to Brooklyn, Tony and Angela had a change of plans for the night. They were going to get a good Italian meal and enjoy each other's company-Tony kept saying that valentine's day wouldn't be ruined for them, and he meant it.  
  
Finally, when they found themselves finishing their meals, Angela and Tony had almost completely forgotten about their disastrous dates earlier. Ordering another bottle of wine, Tony finished his glass, and wondered how they ended up in each other's lives.  
  
"I couldn't believe him. Shouldn't we get some?" Angela repeated what Toby had said to her.  
  
"He SAID that?" Tony looked at her in dismay. "Why didn't you tell me to kill him then and there? To hell with second chances!"  
  
Angela smiled. "You'd do it, too, wouldn't you?" She loved that they had gotten so much closer recently. The relationship they had changed from just friends to best friends, and suddenly there was a desire for it to be something more. When Tony saved her earlier, she fantasized about him being her knight in shining armour.  
  
"Of course I'd do it, Angela, I..."  
  
"Yeah?" she waited with baited breath, wondering what was coming next.  
  
"I think I need another glass of wine," he said pouring more in his glass and then offering some to her.  
  
"Yeah," she nodded. She needed more to drink. ___  
  
Red, red wine Go to my head Make me forget that I Still need her so Tony watched as Angela swayed on the dance floor. Everyone else had left, but them, and they were enjoying having the entire restaurant/bar to themselves.  
  
"Come on! Come dance with me," Angela called to him, continuing to dance. She was drunk, and she was enjoying it.  
  
"I dunno," he said quickly. "I'm not sure I can stand up," he laughed.  
  
"No standing required," she joked as she continued to dance.  
  
I`d have thought That with time Thoughts of her Would leave my head I was wrong And I find Just one thing makes me forget  
  
He couldn't decide if it was the control of the alcohol that was making him want to stand up and kiss her, or if it was the feelings he'd been masking for months, but either way he wasn't sure he could be near to her without acting on them.  
  
As the song wound down, Angela stopped dancing and watched down drink another glass of wine.  
  
"I want to walk," she said plainly, as if it made perfect sense.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked. "Where?"  
  
"Anywhere. Down the street," she announced.  
  
"Sure," he said, finishing yet another newly poured drink. ____ "Oh, look, a tattoo parlour!" Angela squealed with delight.  
  
"Yeah, the twelfth one we've passed in three blocks-think we're in the area for tattooing?" Tony laughed, thinking what he said was a joke, and then realizing it was merely a statement.  
  
"I want one," Angela said quickly.  
  
"A tattoo parlour? Don't you think you're busy enough with the Bower Agency?" Tony looked at her, totally confused by this new business direction.  
  
"Not the parlour silly, I want a tattoo." Angela's eyes glistened. "Let's do it, let's get a tattoo." "Uh, Angela, no offence, but uh, don't you think you're too..." Tony stopped himself before he gave voice to the comment.  
  
"Too what? I'm not too anything, I assure you," she said as she straightened her jacket collar. "I may seem refined and ..."  
  
"Like a goody goody?" Tony asked, teasingly.  
  
"TONY!" she whined. "Yeah, like a goody goody. But I like to do crazy things too!"  
  
"What have you ever done that's crazy?" Tony could barely contain his laughter. Angela was the straightest shooter he had ever met-she was perfect, and that was part of why he loved her.  
  
"This," she said, grabbing Tony's shoulders and kissing him deeply. Her hands splayed across his back, as her tongue delved into his mouth, and she continued to deepen this kiss, waiting for his hands to find their way around her body.  
  
Finally, as she pulled away, she smiled. "There, crazy enough?"  
  
Tony looked at her in shock. "Um..."  
  
"No?" she asked, ready to take it one step further. "I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you," she announced.  
  
"So, you want a tattoo?" Tony asked, still dumbfounded by her statement.  
  
"Oh," she said, biting her lip and wishing that she had her wits about her so she could figure a way out.  
  
Suddenly, Tony's arms wrapped around her again and just as their lips were about to meet again, he stopped them. "I think I'm in love with you too," he said before once again drowning in her taste. ____ "TONY?" Angela practically squealed as she looked down at his naked, sleeping form.  
  
"Yeah, Angela just give me a few more minutes and I'll get breakfast ready. Omelets okay?" Tony grumbled and rolled on to his stomach, burying his head in the pillow.  
  
"Wake up," she said, straightening the comforter out of his body, having stolen another peak at it.  
  
"Ang, serious, it won't be long. Come back to bed." He mumbled something more into the pillow and then shifted again, this time on to his back.  
  
"Look, I need you to wake up," she said more frustrated.  
  
"Wow, again?" he asked, his eyes still closed. "You're insatiable, aren't you?"  
  
Angela could feel her face turning various shades of crimson as she realized what he was talking about. They had made love last night, and she didn't remember it. And apparently they had made love several times.  
  
"TONY!" She finally said more loudly than she had intended, and Tony sat bolt upright in bed, looking around the room disoriented.  
  
Angela gasped, seeing something on his chest.  
  
"What?" He realized where he was, and then the reality began to sink in. "Oh my God," he said, lifting the covers and realizing he didn't have any clothes on.  
  
"Tony, there's uh..." Angela moved to sit on the edge of the bed and then ran her hand over his chest gently, as she inspected it. "There's a, uh, tattoo, here."  
  
There it was, clear as day, a deep red heart with Angela's name written in it, with vibrant green vines entwining around it, and ending in one beautiful blue flower, and it occupied the skin over his heart.  
  
"Yeah, there is, isn't there?" Tony wasn't sure of what else to say.  
  
"We must have been pretty drunk," Angela commented, nonchalantly.  
  
"I guess so," he said, still looking at the tattoo.  
  
Suddenly Angela remembered the discomfort she felt. "Oh dear," she said, as she ran to the vanity, and then wondered how she was going to check. She'd need to move her robe, and try not to show Tony everything-then again, he had seen everything apparently, but still, she decided that a modicum of decorum was necessary.  
  
Loosening her robe and sliding it down over her shoulder, she revealed a tattoo. Two perfect pink roses, stem to bud, wrapped in a heart shape, surrounding Tony's name.  
  
Engrossed in the word on her body, and what it meant to her, she didn't notice Tony get out of bed and pull on his boxer shorts which had been lying by the bedside. Nor did she notice that his hands slid around her waist and his eyes joined hers staring at the reflection.  
  
"I remember some things about last night," Tony confessed.  
  
"Really? I don't remember anything," Angela admitted.  
  
"Yeah," Tony continued. "I remember you saying that you thought you loved me." He stopped and examined her expression. She was trying to train her eyes not to move away from the tattoo.  
  
"And?" She asked.  
  
"And I remember telling you that I thought I loved you too." Tony stopped and waited for her eyes to shift towards his.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah really." Tony said with finality. "I also remember us making love...over and over again. I remember never feeling happier," he finally confessed.  
  
"I wish I remembered." Angela watched Tony as his arms moved away from her body.  
  
"So do I," he admitted.  
  
"So?"  
  
"So?" He asked.  
  
"Happy Valentine's day," she said softly, stepping closer to him. "Since I don't remember last night, why don't you give me something to remember today?"  
  
Tony looked at her reluctantly. "Are you..."  
  
"I'm sure," she said, finishing his thought. "I'm still pretty sure I love you."  
  
"I know I love you," he said, pressing a kiss against her shoulder, just above the tattoo. ___ 


End file.
